Hi Parents:
Wifi in Cuba is extremely difficult to use, but our instructor
just managed to send me an email with some blog updates, including some that
were posted earlier via screenshot but are now typed out. Thanks,
Ross Wehner
Friday, March 18th
Yousif: Today was
our first day in Cuba’s capital, Havana. I had a great breakfast of eggs with
toast and freshly squeezed carrot and orange juice with my host family. We
visited Museo de Bellas Artes and Museo de la Revolucion, both were equally
interesting and completely different experiences. I particularly enjoyed Museo
de la Revolution as it offered a captivating perspective on the revolution. For
lunch we went to a restaurant called Sloppy Joe’s. I ordered a sloppy joe and
it was really good. Others ordered Cubanos, a pressed sandwich with ham,
mortadella, and melted cheese. We also visited an open air market which was a
lot of fun. We got to interact with Havana locals and test our bartering
skills. It was a great experience and one of the highlights of the trip. After
that, we walked more in Havana and visited many plazas and a beautiful
church.
Magnus: Finally
being in Havana was extremely exciting for me. When one thinks of Cuba one
thinks of El Capitolio, the grand dome in the city center and plazas
marked with grand Spanish churches at the ends. This Spanish
influence was particularly special and at some points the architecture was
intimidating.
Thursday 3/17 Travel Day to Havana
- Departure
- Share out on bus
- Playa Giron
- Snorkeling
- Finca Vigia
- Homestay
- Dinner
- Isaac:
- We woke up before sunrise today. We had a great breakfast, for me it was an omelette and lots of fruit. Then, it was to the bus on our way to Havana. After some quick maintenance with the AC, we were on our way. Two nights ago, we did what WLS calls a Community Inquiry, where we spoke with our host families about gender roles and different aspects of Cuban life as sociologists or anthropologists would.
- Today, we shared what they said on our way to Playa Girón. Our first view of the water was a crystal clear light blue water and white sand. We rented snorkels and got into the water. It was one of the best experiences I have ever had. The water was clear and the fish were colorful.
- One of the coolest fish was a flounder that was changing color to blend in with the environment. Our group went out with our certified dive instructor and there was a flipped over, sunken boat at the bottom and I was to be able to touch it.
- We ate lunch at Villa Rosita where there were a range of options from lobster to pork to squid. Then we drove for a little while longer to Ernest Hemingway’s house called Finca Vigia. It was a beautiful estate with lots and lots of books on the outskirts of Havana. I then met my new homestay family, a lovely elderly woman named Tania and her son Oscar. To finish off the day, we had a lovely meal of rice, beans, and bread.
Day 6 Wednesday March 16
Menen: We were picked up from our home
stay families at about 9 am because we were headed to Cinco de Septiembre which
is a technical school. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the director and given
some background on the school and the overall school system in Cuba. After
completing the ninth grade, if you are not sure what you would like to do as a
career, you can attend high school. However if you have a good grip on what
you’re interested in, you can go to a school that focuses on that career. We
were also introduced to a Haitian student named Joseph who came to Cuba without
knowing a word of Spanish… to be continued….Thursday 3/17 (Travel Day to
Havana)
Isaac:
We woke up before sunrise today. We had a great breakfast, for
me it was an omelette and lots of fruit. Then it was to the bus on
our way to Havana. It didn’t start off great with the bus not starting
originally. After some quick maintenance we were on our way. Two nights ago, we
spoke with our host families about gender roles and different aspects of Cuban
life. Today we shared what they said of our way to Playa Girón. Our first view
of the water was a crystal clear light blue water and white sand. We rented
snorkels and we got into the water. It was one of the best experiences I have
ever had. The water was clear and the fish were colorful. One of the coolest
fish was a flounder that was changing color to blend with the environment. We
went out to where the water was around 20-30ft deep. There was a flipped over,
sunken boat at the bottom and one of my self imposed challenges was to be able
to touch it. After a couple of tries and multiple pressurizations, I was able
to do it. We ate lunch at Villa Rosita where there were a range of options from
lobster to pork to squid. Then we drove for a little while longer to Ernest
Hemingway’s house called Finca Vingia. It was a beautiful estate with lots and
lots of books on the outskirts of Havana. I then met my new homestay family and
lovely elderly woman named Tania and her son Oscar. To finish off the day we
had a lovely meal of rice, beans, and bread.
Tuesday, March 15
Rabia:
We woke up early and headed to a middle school, grades 7-9. The
name of the school was Luis Pere Lozano and like other schools around the area
and in Cuba, the school was named after an important historic figure. Once we
arrived, we got a warm welcome from the students and the teachers. One of the
teachers spoke English well and was able to translate what most of the students
said to us along with Rey. We went to a science lab with students in the 8th
grade and got to look at the set up of the classrooms. To no surprise, the
students felt too shy to ask questions, but as the day went along, both the
students and our group were able to break the ice a bit. We then got to visit a
chemistry class with students in the 8th grade, and students were shocked at our
age. The students were pretty shy and only 2 or 3 of them asked questions. We
went outside and got to play soccer, basketball or talk with the students. We
then walked to the garden and saw what the students have planted throughout the
years. The students plant lots of fruits and vegetables to be sold for the
school. The students then have snack.The students had a performance ready for
us. We then sang and danced and managed to get everyone up on the dance floor,
especially Bobby who yet again led the pack. It was a lot of fun working with
middle school kids and they opened up a lot more once we were dancing.
Lily:
After we left the the school, we headed to a roof top restaurant
on top of a beautiful hotel in Cienfuegos. From the roof we could see a unique
panoramic view of the bay of Cienfuegos and the ocean, and also in the distance
we saw old Soviet-era power plant. The weather was warm and beautiful but not
too hot because we had a breeze on the roof. For lunch we had pizza and pasta
with ham or just cheese. After lunch, we went back to our homestay families
briefly to change into or grab our bathing suits before heading back to the
hotel to go to the pool. The pool was really cool and relaxing and we just hung
out in the water and around the pool for a couple of hours. At the pool,we also
did ANCHOR and had some really good lemonade. After the pool, we went back to
our homestay families played BS and UNO before eating a fantastic dinner with
our homestay family and than doing community inquiry. Community Inquiry is a
WLS activity where each homestay group has an in-depth conversation with a
member of our homestay families abut topics like health care and life
expectancy. After community inquiry, three of the homestay groups met at
Manolo's house for card games and group bonding before heading back to our
houses and going to bed! Thanks for reading!
